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FRENCH    INTRUSIONS 
INTO  NEW  MEXICO 

1749-1752 

By 

HERBERT  E.  BOLTON 

University  of  California 


REPRINTED  FROM  "THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY" 
BY  H.  MORSE  STEPHENS  AND  HERBERT  E.  BOLTON. 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


Copyright,  1917,  By  The  Macmillan  Company. 


HVI-^^ 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752 
Herbert  E.  Bolton 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  French  voyageurs,  chasseurs, 
and  traders  of  Louisiana  and  Canada  looked  with  covetous  eyes 
toward  New  Mexico.  To  the  adventurer  it  was  a  land  promising 
gold  and  silver  and  a  path  to  the  South  Sea ;  to  the  merchant  it 
olBFered  rich  profits  in  trade.  The  three  natural  avenues  of  ap- 
proach to  this  Promised  Land  were  the  Missoiu'i,  Arkansas,  and 
Red  rivers.  But  there  were  two  obstacles  to  expeditions  bound 
for  New  Mexico.  One  was  the  jealous  and  exclusive  policy  of 
Spain  which  made  the  reception  of  such  Frenchmen  as  might 
reach  Santa  Fe  a  matter  of  uncertainty ;  the  other  was  the  Indian 
tribes  which  stood  in  the  way.  The  Red  River  highway  was 
effectually  blocked  by  the  Apache,  mortal  enemies  of  all  the 
tribes  along  the  lower  valley;  the  Arkansas  and  Missouri  River 
avenues  were  impeded  by  the  Comanche  for  analogous  reasons. 
It  was  not  so  much  that  the  Apache  and  Comanche  were  averse 
to  the  entrance  of  French  traders,  as  that  the  jealous  enemies  of 
these  tribes  opposed  the  passage  of  the  traders  to  their  foes  with 
supplies  of  weapons.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest  that  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  American  pioneers  found  almost  identical  con^ 
ditions  in  the  same  region. 

As  the  fur  traders  and  official  explorers  pushed  rapidly  west, 
one  of  their  constant  aims  was  to  open  the  way  to  New  Mexico 
by  effecting  peace  between  the  Comanche  and  the  tribes  further 
east.  In  1718-1719  La  Harpe  ascended  the  Red  River  and  es- 
tablished the  Cadodacho  post ;  Du  Rivage  went  seventy  leagues 
fmlher  up  the  Red  River;  and  La  Harpe  crossed  over  to  the 
Touacara  villages  on  the  lower  Canadian.  At  the  same  time 
DuTisne  reached  the  Panipiquet,  or  Jmnano,  villages  on  the 
Arkansas,  north  of  the  Oklahoma  line.  Finding  further  advance 
2d  389 


390  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

cut  off  by  the  hostility  of  the  Jumano  for  the  Comanche,  he  tried, 
but  without  avail,  to  effect  a  treaty  between  the  tribes.^  Two 
years  later  La  Harpe  reestablished  the  Arkansas  post,  ascended 
the  river  half  way  to  the  Canadian,  and  urged  a  post  among  the 
Touacara,  as  a  base  for  advance  to  New  Mexico.^  In  1723  Bourg- 
mont  erected  a  post  among  the  Missouri  tribe  to  protect  the  fur 
traders  there,  to  check  an  advance  by  the  Spaniards  such  as  had 
been  threatened  by  the  Villazur  expedition  in  1720,  and  as  a  base 
for  commerce  with  New  Mexico.  To  open  the  way  thither  he 
led  Missouri,  Kansas,  Oto,  and  Iowa  chiefs  to  the  Padoucah 
(Comanche),  near  the  Colorado  border  of  Kansas,  effected  a 
treaty  between  them,  and  secured  permission  for  Frenchmen  to 
pass  through  the  Comanche  country  to  the  Spaniards.^ 

Shortly  afterward  the  Missouri  post  was  destroyed  by  Indians, 
the  Missouri  valley  was  made  unsafe  for  a  number  of  years  by  the 
Fox  wars,  and  French  advance  westward  was  checked.  Although 
there  are  indications  that  in  the  interim  traders  kept  pushing  up 
the  Missouri,  the  next  well  known  attempt  to  reach  New  Mexico 
was  made  in  1739.  In  that  year  the  Mallet  party  of  eight  or  nine 
men  left  the  Missouri  River  at  the  Arikara  villages,  went  south 
to  the  Platte  River,  ascended  that  stream,  and  made  their  way 
through  the  Comanche  country  to  Taos  and  to  Santa  Fe.  After 
being  detained  several  months  in  friendly  captivity,  six  or  seven 
of  the  party  returned,  unharmed  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  and 
bearing  evidence  that  the  residents  of  New  Mexico  would  welcome 
trade.  Four  of  the  party  descended  the  Canadian  and  Arkan- 
sas rivers,  the  others  going  northeast  to  the  Illinois. 

The  Mallet  party  had  succeeded  in  getting  through  the  Co- 
manche country  to  New  Mexico  and  had  returned  in  safety  and 
with  good  prospects  for  trade  —  two  important  achievements. 
Immediately  there  was  renewed  interest  in  the  Spanish  border, 
on  the  part  of  both  government  officials  and  of  private  adven- 

»  Miss  Anne  Wendels,  a  graduate  student  at  the  University  of  California,  has 
clearly  shown  that  the  Panis  visited  by  DuTisn6  were  on  the  Arkansas  River  south- 
west of  the  Osage,  and  that  DuTisn6  did  not,  as  is  sometimes  stated,  pass  beyond 
to  the  Padoucah.  French  Interest  in  and  Activities  on  the  Spanish  Border  of  Louis- 
ana,  1717-1753,  Ms.  thesis. 

«  Miss  Wendels,  in  the  paper  cited  above,  has  made  a  most  careful  study  of  the 
routes  of  La  Harpe  on  this  and  his  former  expedition,  with  convincing  results. 

•  For  Bourgmont's  route  I  follow  Miss  Wendels,  who  differs  somewhat  from 
Parkman,  Heinrich,  and  others. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO   NEW    MEXICO,   1749-1752    391 

turers.  At  once,  in  1741,  Governor  Bienville  sent  Fabry  de  la 
Bruyere,  bearing  a  letter  to  the  governor  of  New  IViexico  and 
guided  by  four  members  of  the  Mallet  party,  with  instructions 
to  retrace  the  steps  of  the  latter,  open  up  a  commercial  route, 
and  explore  the  Far  West.^  Shortly  afterward  a  new  military  post, 
called  Fort  Cavagnolle,  was  established  on  the  Missouri  at  the 
Kansas  village,  and  the  Arkansas  route  was  made  safe  by  effecting 
in  1746  or  1747  a  treaty  between  the  Comanche  and  the  Jumano. 

The  effect  of  the  treaty  was  immediate,  and  at  once  there  were 
new  expeditions  to  New  Mexico  by  deserters,  private  traders,  and 
official  agents.  The  fact  that  they  occurred  has  only  recently 
come  to  light.  The  incidents  are  so  unknown  to  history,  and 
reveal  so  many  important  facts  concerning  the  New  Mexico- 
Louisiana  frontier,  that  they  deserve  narration,  and  have  therefore 
occasioned  this  paper.  Their  records  are  contained  in  two  expedi- 
entes  in  the  archives  of  Mexico,  discovered  by  the  present  writer.^ 

Before  proceeding  to  the  narration  of  these  intrusions,  a  word 
further  must  be  said  regarding  the  position  of  the  Comanche  on 
the  Spanish  border.  At  that  time  the  tribe  roamed  over  the 
plains  between  the  upper  waters  of  the  Red  River  and  the  Platte, 
the  two  divisions  most  frequently  mentioned  being  the  Padoucah 
and  the  Laitane,  or  Naitane.  They  followed  the  buffalo  for  a 
living  and  had  large  droves  of  horses,  mules,  and  even  burros, 

1  Lettre  de  MM.  Bienville  et  Salmon,  April  30,  1741,  in  Margry,  Dicouvertes,  vol.  4, 
pp.  466-467;  Instructions  donn4es  A  Fabry  dela  Bruytre,  ibid.,  pp.  468—470;  Ex- 
trait  des  lettres  du  sieur  Fabry,  h  V occasion  du  voyage  projetes  h  Santa  Fe,  ibid., 
pp.  472-492;  Wendels,  French  Interests  and  Activities  on  the  Spanish  Border  of 
Louisiana,  1717-1753.  After  proceeding  a  short  distance  up  the  Canadian,  Fabry 
was  forced  through  lack  of  water  for  canoes  to  go  back  to  the  Arkansas  post  for 
horses.  Returning,  by  way  of  the  Cadodacho,  he  found  that  the  Mallet  brothers 
had  continued  toward  Santa  F6,  on  foot.  Giving  up  the  project,  Fabry  crossed 
over  from  the  Canadian  to  the  Red  River,  where  he  visited  the  Tavakanas  and 
Kitsaiches  (Towakoni  and  Kichai),  two  of  the  tribes  which  La  Harpe  had  found  on 
the  Canadian  in  1719.  The  further  adventures  of  the  Mallets  have  not  come  to 
light,  but  it  is  known  that  in  1744  a  Frenchman  called  Santiago  Velo  reached  New 
Mexico.  He  was  secretly  despatched  to  Mexico  by  Governor  Codallos  y  Rabal. 
Twitchell,  R.  E.,  The  Spanish  Archives  of  New  Mexico,  vol.  1,  p.  149. 

2  They  are :  (1)  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar  gu&^  rumbo  han  ttraido  ttres  franzeses 
que  llegaron  al  Pueblo  de  taos  con  la  Na^  Cumanche  q  benian  a  hazer  sus  aconstum- 
brados  resgattes.  Juez,  El  S^  Z)«  Thomas  V6lez,  Govor  de  esta  Provincia.  Archivo 
General  y  Ptiblico,  Mexico,  cited  hereafter  as  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar.  (2)  Testi- 
monio  de  los  Autos  fhos  a  Consulta  del  Govor  del  nuebo  Mexco  sobre  haver  llegado  dos 
franzeses  cargados  de  efectos  que  conduzian  de  la  Nueba  Orleans.  Archivo  General 
y  Ptiblico,  Mexico,  Provincias  Intemas,  tomo  34.  These  expedientes  consist  of 
the  declarations  of  the  intruders,  correspondence  concerning  them,  documents 
confiscated  from  them,  and  records  of  proceedings  in  Mexico  regarding  them.  Ad- 
ditional light  is  shed  by  some  documents  published  in  Twitchell's  Spanish  Archives 
of  New  Mexico,  vol.  1,  pp.  148-151. 


392  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

which  they  bought  or  stole  from  the  Spaniards.  In  order  the 
better  to  exploit  the  buffalo  and  find  pasturage,  they  lived  scat- 
tered in  small  bands.  They  were  bitter  enemies  of  the  Apache 
tribes  living  to  the  south/  and  until  shortly  before  had  been  hostile 
to  the  Jumano,  Pawnee,  and  most  of  the  other  tribes  to  the  east- 
ward. Hemmed  in  by  this  wall  of  enemies,  they  had  had  little 
contact  with  the  French,  and  had  depended  mainly  upon  the 
Spaniards  of  New  Mexico  for  supplies.  Their  principal  trading 
mart  was  Taos,  where  each  spring  they  went  in  large  numbers  to 
attend  a  great  fair,  where  they  exchanged  peltry  and  captives  for 
horses,  knives,  and  other  merchandise.^  In  spite  of  this  trade 
with  the  Spaniards,  the  Comanche  were  overbearing,  and  often 
stole  horses  and  committed  other  depredations  in  the  settlements. 
During  the  quinquennium  of  Governor  Codallos  y  Rabal  (1744- 
1749)  they  several  times  attacked  Pecos  and  Galisteo,  killing  one 
hundred  and  fifty  residents  of  Pecos  alone.  In  view  of  this 
situation.  Governor  Velez,  the  successor  of  Codallos,  was  forced 
to  fortify  and  establish  garrisons  at  both  Pecos  and  Galisteo. 
Thus,  the  Comanche  situation  was  already  precarious  before  the 
peace  with  the  Jumano  and  the  coming  of  the  French  traders; 
and  their  advent  made  it  worse.^ 

One  of  the  trading  parties  which  followed  upon  the  Comanche 
alliance  with  the  Jumano  was  among  the  former  tribe  early  in  1748, 
but  we  know  little  of  the  history  of  the  expedition.  On  February 
27  of  that  year  seven  Comanches  from  a  village  on  the  Xicarilla 
River  entered  Taos  and  reported  that  thirty-three  Frenchmen 
had  come  to  their  settlement  and  traded  muskets  for  mules.  All 
but  two  had  gone  back,  but  the  two  were  waiting  at  the  village 
to  accompany  the  Comanche  to  the  Taos  fair.  In  consequence 
of  the  report  Governor  Codallos  wrote  the  viceroy  a  letter  in 
which  he  surmised  some  conspiracy  between  the  Comanche  and 
the  French,  recalled  the  destruction  of  the  Villazur  expedition 
in  1720  through  French  influence,  pointed  out  the  increased  danger 
from  the  Comanche  now  that  they  were  securing  firearms,  and 

*  Carlanes,  Palomaa,  Chilpaines,  Pelones,  Natag6s,  and  Faraones. 

'  Many  of  these  facts  concerning  the  Comanche  situation  are  gleaned  from  the 
two  expedientes  cited  above,  note  5. 

»  Governor  Tom&s  V61ez  Cachupin  to  the  viceroy,  Santa  F6,  March  8,  1750,  in 
Autos  fhos  are  averigtuir,  fol.  31. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,   1749-1752     393 

proposed  a  military  post  on  the  Xicarilla  River,  the  avenue  of 
approach  for  both  the  Comanche  and  the  French.^ 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  party  of  which  Codallos  wrote  did  not 
enter  the  New  Mexico  settlements,  but  this  is  not  true  of  one 
which  arrived  the  following  spring.  Near  the  end  of  his  term, 
early  in  1749,  Codallos  sent  his  lieutenant,  Bernardo  de  Bustamante 
y  Tagle,  to  attend  the  Taos  fair.  When  he  returned  to  Santa  Fe 
on  April  12  he  brought  with  him  three  Frenchmen  whom  the 
Comanche  had  conducted  to  the  fair  and  who  had  requested 
Bustamante  to  take  them  to  the  capital.^  The  new  governor, 
Tomas  Velez  Cachupin,  had  the  strangers  promptly  lodged  in 
the  Palacio  de  Gobierno  and  duly  interrogated.  Since  they  did 
not  know  Spanish,  they  were  questioned  through  an  interpreter 
named  Pedro  Soutter,  who  was  "  sufficiently  versed  in  the  French 
language."  The  formal  interrogatorio  drawn  up  for  the  purpose 
contained  fifteen  points,  and  was  quite  typical  of  Spanish  adminis- 
trative thoroughness.  It  asked  each  of  the  strangers  his  name, 
marital  status,  religion,  residence,  his  route  in  coming,  the  coun- 
try and  tribes  passed  through,  the  names,  location,  and  condition 
of  the  French  settlements,  their  relations  with  the  Indians,  the 
extent  and  nature  of  the  fur  trade,  whether  the  French  had  mines, 
and  numerous  other  items  of  interest  to  the  frontier  Spanish 
authorities.^ 

The  first  examination  of  the  three  strangers  took  place  on 
April  13,  another  being  held  subsequently.  Since  the  first  state- 
ments were  in  some  respects  confused  and  indefinite,  due  in  part, 
it  was  claimed,  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  interpreter,  and  since 
much  new  light  is  shed  by  the  subsequent  depositions,  my  narra- 
tive will  be  drawn  from  the  two  combined.* 


>  Antonio  Durdn  de  Armijo  to  Governor  Codallos,  Taos,  February  27,  1748,  in 
Twitchell,  The  Spanish  Archives  of  New  Mexico,  vol.  1,  p.  148 ;  Joaquin  Codallos 
y  Rabal  to  the  viceroy,  Santa  F6,  March  4,  1748,  ibid.,  pp.  148-151. 

»  Autto  of  V61ez,  April  12,  1749,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averigvnr,  S.  1-2. 

»  Notificacion  y  juramento  de  d»  Pedro  Souter  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  2-3  ; 
"  Ynterrogatorio,"  ibid.,  3-4. 

*  Declarations  of  the  three  Frenchmen,  April  13,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar, 
4-12 ;  V61ez  to  the  viceroy,  June  19,  1749,  in  ibid.,  13-14 ;  declarations  of  the 
three  Frenchmen  March  5,  1750,  in  ibid.,  16-20.  They  declared  that  the  first 
of  the  three  ranchertas  of  Comanche  comprised  eighty-four  tents  and  eight  hun- 
dred persons;  the  second  forty  and  the  third  twenty-three  tents,  with  people  in 
proportion.  They  declared  that  they  saw  five  fusees  among  the  Comanche,  and 
that  the  Indians  would  not  permit  them  to  enter  the  village.     The  Comanche  lived 


394  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

As  first  recorded  the  names  of  the  strangers  were  given  as 
Luis  del  Fierro,  Pedro  Sastre,  and  Joseph  Miguel;  they  later 
emerged  as  Luis  Febre.  Pedro  Satren,  or  Latren,  and  Joseph 
Miguel  Riballo.  According  to  the  declarations,  Febre  was  twenty- 
nine  years  old,  a  native  of  New  Orleans,  and  by  trade  a  tailor  and 
a  barber.  He  had  been  a  soldier  at  New  Orleans,  had  deserted 
to  Canada,  going  thence  to  Michillimackinac  ("San  Miguel  Ma- 
china"),  to  Ysla  Negra,  Illinois  (Silinue),  and  to  the  Arkansas 
post.  Pedro  Satren,  forty-two  years  old,  was  a  native  of  Quebec, 
where  he  had  been  a  carpenter  and  a  soldier.  He  had  also  been 
at  Michillimackinac  and  at  the  Arkansas  post,  whence  he  had 
deserted  after  fifteen  days'  service.  Riballo,  twenty-four  years 
old,  was  a  native  of  Illinois,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  had  been 
a  soldier  in  Illinois  and  at  the  Arkansas  post.  All  stated  that 
they  were  bachelors  and  Catholics ;  none  could  si^n  their  names. 
All  claimed  to  have  deserted  from  the  Arkansas  post  because  of 
harsh  treatment.  They  had  heard  of  New  Mexico  and  its  mines 
from  certain  Frenchmen  who  had  returned  from  Santa  Fe  a  few 
years  before.  They  had  been  encouraged  to  make  the  attempt  to 
reach  it  by  the  alliance  made  some  two  years  before  between  the 
Jumano  and  the  Comanche,  which  made  it  possible  to  go  through 
the  country  of  the  latter.  These  statements  illustrate  clearly 
the  effect  of  the  safe  return  of  the  Mallet  party  and  of  the  treaty 
between  the  Indian  tribes. 

The  point  of  departure  of  the  Febre  party  was  a  village  of 
Arkansas  (Zarca)  Indians  a  short  distance  west  of  the  post.  From 
there  twelve  men  had  set  out  together  in  the  fall  of  1748.  Going 
up  the  Napestle  (Arkansas),  they  passed  the  two  villages  of  the 
Jumano,  to  which  point  French  traders  went  regularly  in  canoes 
to  trade.^  Being  conducted  from  here  by  Jumano  Indians,  after 
going  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  they  reached  a  Comanche 
settlement  of  three  villages,  where  they  remained  some  time, 
hunting  with  the  Indians  and  being  asked  by  them  to  join  in  a 
campaign  against  the  A  tribe.     From  the  Comanche  settlement 

chiefly  on  buffalo  but  utilized  some  wild  cattle  for  food.     Deposition  of  Febre,  in 
A1U08  fhos  sre  averiguar,  6. 

^  In  the  depositions  the  two  Panpiquet,  or  Jumano,  villages  were  said  to  com- 
prise about  three  hundred  warriors,  and  the  tribe  to  be  fierce  cannibals.  Autos 
fhos  sre  averiguar,  6-7. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,   174^1752     395 

Febre,  Satren,  and  Riballo  were  conducted,  in  the  course  of  a 
month,  to  the  Taos  fair,  whence  they  were  taken  by  Bustamante 
to  Santa  Fe,  arriving  there  six  months  after  setting  out.^  Upon 
reaching  Santa  Fe  they  were  dispossessed  of  their  fusees,  lodged 
in  the  Real  Palacio,  and  set  to  work. 

Two  months  later  (June  19)  Governor  Velez  made  a  report  of 
the  occurrence  to  the  viceroy  which  is  an  interesting  commen- 
tary upon  the  economic  needs  of  the  old  Spanish  outpost,  and 
of  the  local  attitude  toward  intruding  foreigners  who  could  add 
to  the  economic  wellbeing  of  the  province.  At  that  time,  Velez 
said,  the  strangers  were  working  quietly  and  proficiently  at  the 
Real  Palacio,  two  of  them  being  employed  as  carpenters,  and 
Febre  as  tailor,  barber,  and  blood-letter.  He  added,  "since 
there  is  a  lack  of  members  of  these  professions  in  this  villa  and 
the  other  settlements  of  the  realm  ...  it  would  seem  to  be  very 
advantageous  that  they  should  remain  and  settle  in  it,  because 
of  their  skill  in  their  callings,  for  they  can  teach  some  of  the  many 
boys  here  who  are  vagrant  and  given  to  laziness.  It  is  very  lam- 
entable that  the  resident  who  now  is  employed  as  barber  and 
blood-letter  is  so  old  that  he  would  pass  for  seventy  years  of  age ; 
as  for  a  tailor,  there  is  no  one  who  knows  the  trade  directly. 
These  are  the  three  trades  of  the^  Frenchman  named  Luis.  And 
resident  carpenter  there  is  none,  for  the  structure  of  the  houses, 
and  repeated  reports  which  I  have  from  the  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants, manifest  the  lack  of  carpenters  suffered  in  the  province." 
In  view  of  these  conditions,  the  governor  recommended  that  the 
Frenchmen  be  permitted  to  remain  in  New  Mexico,  promising 
to  deport  them  to  Mexico  City  if  they  should  give  cause.^ 

The  governor's  report  reached  Mexico  in  due  time,  and  on 
August  29  was  sent  to  the  auditor  general  de  guerra,  the  Marques 
de  Altamira,  the  man  at  the  capital  who  at  this  epoch  had  most 
to  do  with  the  government  of  the  provinces.^  In  view  of  the  in- 
definiteness  of  the  declarations  of  the  three  Frenchmen,  particu- 
larly in  matters  of  Louisiana  geography,  he  was  suspicious  of 
their  honesty,  and  he  therefore  advised  that  new  depositions  be 

1  Depositions  of  Febre,  Satren,  and  Riballo,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar. 
'  V61ez  to  the  viceroy,  June  19,  1749,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  13-14. 
» Z>ecreto  of  the  viceroy,  ibid.,   13  (bis).     It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  the  origi- 
nal the  numbers  13  and  14  are  repeated  in  the  numbering  of  the  folios. 


396  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

taken.  On  the  other  hand,  he  approved  the  governor's  request, 
and  advised  that  the  strangers  be  allowed  to  remain  at  Santa  F6 
to  teach  their  trades,  on  condition  that  they  be  duly  watched.^ 

The  auditor's  advice  was  acted  upon,  and  on  October  3  a  de- 
spatch was  sent  to  Governor  Velez.^  It  was  in  consequence  of 
these  instructions  that  new  depositions  were  taken,  March  5,  1750. 
The  Frenchmen  had  been  in  Santa  Fe  nearly  a  year  now,  and  no 
interpreter  was  necessary — at  least  none  was  oflScially  appointed 
as  had  been  the  case  before.  The  preeminence  of  Satren  among 
the  three  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  his  was  the  only  declara- 
tion written  in  full,  the  other  two  men  saying  little  more  than  to 
subscribe  to  what  he  stated.^  In  his  new  deposition  many  of  the 
shortcomings  of  the  former  were  corrected  and  many  new  details 
added. 

In  the  meantime  seven  other  men  from  Louisiana  had  arrived 
at  Santa  Fe  at  different  times.  Satren  declared  them  to  be  fur 
traders  whom  he  knew,  and  that  they  had  left  Louisiana,  like 
himself,  in  order  to  make  a  better  living  among  the  Spaniards.* 
Clearly,  however,  they  were  not  of  the  party  of  twelve  in  which 
Satren  had  set  out  in  1748,  for  they  left  Arkansas  a  year  later. 

Among  the  newcomers  was  a  Spaniard  named  Felipe  de  Sandoval, 
who  made  a  deposition  at  Santa  Fe  on  March  1,  1750,  four  days 
before  the  second  declaration  of  Satren  was  given.  According  to 
his  statement  he  had  left  Spain  in  1742.  Near  Puerto  Rico  his 
vessel  had  been  captured  by  the  English  and  taken  to  Jamaica. 
After  remaining  there  a  prisoner  for  two  years  he  fled  on  a  French 
vessel  to  Mobile,  going  thence  to  New  Orleans  and  to  the  Arkansas 

^  Altamira  noted  especially  the  fact  that  the  deserters  failed,  in  their  descrip- 
tions of  Louisiana,  to  mention  the  Natchitoches  and  Cadodacho  posts.  By 
a  misreading  he  understood  the  declarations  to  state  that  New  Orleans  was  six 
hundred  leagues  from  the  Mississippi  River,  whereas  they  meant  that  it  was  that 
distance  from  Santa  F6.  Altamira  also  misunderstood  the  declarations  to  state 
that  the  Comanche  settlements  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Santa  F6. 
What  they  stated  was  that  the  settlements  were  that  distance  from  the  Jumano 
villages.  Altamira,  dictamen,  in  Autos  fhos  are  averiguar,  13  (&ts)-16.  The  nu- 
merals here  and  below  refer  to  folios. 

•  Decreto  of  the  viceroy,  September  30,  1749,  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  15 ; 
memorandum,  October  3,  ibid. 

»  Declarations  of  Satren,  Febre,  and  Riballo,  March  5,  1750,  in  Autos  fhos  sre 
averiguar,  16-20.  Satren  told  in  his  new  declaration  of  the  military  post  among 
the  Cause  (Kansas)  and  stated  that  this  was  the  tribe  who  "defeated  the  Spaniards 
who  in  the  year  twenty,  to  the  number  of  twenty  men,  penetrated  as  far  as  this 
place  under  the  command  of  Don  Pedro  de  Billasur,  this  kingdom  of  New  Mexico 
being  then  governed  by  Don  Antonio  de  Balverde  y  Cosio,"  ibid.,  18. 

*  Ibid.,  19. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,   1749-1752      397 

post  (Los  Sarcos).  There  he  became  a  hunter.  In  all  he  re- 
mained in  Louisiana  five  years.^ 

In  Arkansas  he  learned  of  New  Mexico  through  members  of  the 
Mallet  party  who  had  descended  the  Arkansas  River.  In  the  fall 
of  1749  he  set  out  for  New  Mexico  from  the  Arkansas  post  with  six 
companions,  one  of  whom  was  a  German.  Ascending  the  Napestle 
(Arkansas)  River  in  canoes,  at  the  end  of  fifty  days  they  reached 
the  Jumano  settlement,  where  a  French  flag  was  flying.  This 
tribe  was  at  the  time  living  in  two  contiguous  villages  of  grass 
lodges,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Napestle,  surrounded  with 
stockades  and  ditches.  They  were  a  settled  tribe,  raising  maize, 
beans,  and  calabashes.  According  to  Sandoval  the  two  villages 
comprised  ^\e  hundred  men.  At  this  time  they  were  still  at 
war  with  the  Pananas  (Pawnees).  They  were  fierce  cannibals, 
and  while  Sandoval  was  among  them  he  saw  them  eat  two  cap- 
tives. They  had  extensive  commerce  with  the  French,  and  a 
short  time  before  Sandoval's  visit  they  had  received  presents, 
including  a  French  flag,  from  the  comandante  general  of  Louisiana. 
They  had  a  few  horses,  which  they  had  secured  from  the  Co- 
manche.^ 

After  remaining  twenty  days  with  the  Jumano,  SandovaFs 
party  set  out,  accompanied  by  twelve  Indians.  They  went  south- 
ward and  then  westward  for  twenty  days,  looking  for  the  Co- 
manche, but  did  not  find  them.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Sando- 
val's companions  turned  back  with  the  Jumano,  leaving  him 
alone.  Soon  becoming  lost,  he  returned,  by  twelve  days'  travel, 
to  the  Jumano.     His  companions  had  not  returned  there. 

After  remaining  with  the  Jumano  a  few  days,  Sandoval  set  out 
again,  guided  by  a  Comanche  Indian  who  had  gone  to  the  Jumano 
to  trade.  Ascending  the  Napestle  (Arkansas),  at  the  end  of 
forty  days  they  reached  a  Comanche  settlement  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  whence  flowed  the  Rio  Case  (Cause,  Kansas?).  Here 
Sandoval  remained  four  months,  hunting  with  the  Comanche. 
While  at  the  village  twenty  Jumano  and  two  Frenchmen  came 
to  trade.     When  the  Jumano  returned  they  left  the  Frenchmen, 

1  Declaration  by  Felipe  de  Sandoval,  Santa  F6,  March  1,  1750,  in  Autos  fhos  are 
averiguar,  21-24. 

2  Declaration  by  Sandoval,  Santa  F6,  March  1,  1760,  in  Autoa  fhos  sre  averiguar. 


398  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

who  decided  to  accompany  Sandoval  to  Santa  Fe.  In  another 
party  there  arrived  at  the  Comanche  village  a  German  and  a 
French  priest.  There  are  indications  that  they  were  members 
of  Sandoval's  original  party.^  They,  too,  contemplated  going  on 
to  Santa  Fe,  but  the  German,  not  being  a  Catholic,  feared  the 
Inquisition.  Accordingly,  after  remaining  nine  days,  they  went 
back. 

Sandoval  and  his  two  companions  set  out  again,  guided  by  a 
Comanche  who  was  going  to  New  Mexico  to  sell  slaves  to  the 
Spaniards.  Proceeding  slowly  for  seven  days  to  another  Co- 
manche village,  and  then  three  days  through  a  difficult  mountain, 
they  reached  Taos.  Sandoval  estimated  the  distance  from  Taos 
to  the  Jumano  as  twenty  or  twenty-five  days  northeast  by  east, 
and  from  the  Jumano  to  the  Arkansas  post  down  the  Napestle 
River  by  boat  as  nine  days. 

After  taking  the  new  depositions,  on  March  8,  1750,  Governor 
Velez  reported  again  to  the  viceroy.^  The  burden  of  this  com- 
munication, aside  from  a  long  geographical  description,^  was  the 

1  In  my  transcript  of  Sandoval's  declaration,  it  is  stated  that  he  left  Arkansas 
with  "four  Frenchmen,  a  sargente,  and  a  German"  ibid.,  fol.  21.  In  view  of  the 
presence  of  the  religionario  and  the  German  among  the  Comanche  I  am  led  to  sus- 
pect that  aargente  here  is  a  miscopy  for  religionario  or  religioso. 

*  Governor  V61ez  Cachupin  to  the  viceroy,  Santa  F6,  March  8,  1750,  in  Autos 
fho8  sre  averiguar,  25-31. 

»  Governor  V^lez's  geographical  statement  is  of  great  interest  as  showing  the 
outlook  from  New  Mexico  at  that  time.  The  distance  from  New  Mexico  to  Louisi- 
ana was  commonly  regarded  as  about  two  hundred  leagues  to  the  east,  that  to  San 
Antonio,  "of  the  government  of  Coaguila,"  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  southeast. 
To  the  east  and  southeast  were  the  Carlanes,  Palomas,  Chilpaines,  Natagees,  and 
Faraones,  the  last  two  tribes  living  to  the  south.  To  the  northwest  were  the 
Comanches  and  Jumanes,  the  latter  called  by  the  French  Panipiquees.  The  two 
tribes,  now  allied,  made  cruel  war  upon  the  Carlanes  and  other  Apache  bands 
above  named.  The  entrance  of  the  French  into  New  Mexico  was  facilitated  by 
the  Comanche-Jumano  alliance.  The  Rio  de  Napestle,  "well-known  in  this  realm," 
had  its  source  in  a  very  rugged  mountain  range,  about  eighty  leagues  from  Taos ; 
the  Arkansas  was  shallow  in  its  upper  reaches,  but  at  the  Jumano  village,  he  had 
learned  from  the  French,  it  was  large,  and  farther  down,  after  being  joined  by  the 
Colorado  (Canadian)  it  was  still  larger.  Soldiers  of  New  Mexico,  in  pursuit  of 
Comanches,  and  led  by  Don  Bernardo  de  Bustamante  y  Tagle,  had  reached  the 
vicinity  of  the  Jumano,  following  the  banks  of  the  Rio  de  Napestle,  "on  which 
expedition  were  acquired  adequate  reports  of  those  regions,  in  the  summer  very 
delectable  and  pleasing,  and  inhabited  by  innumerable  buffalo,  which  the  Divine 
Providence  created  for  the  support  of  the  barbarians  and  the  greed  of  Frenchmen." 
To  the  north  of  New  Mexico,  in  the  rugged  mountains,  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  or  two  hundred  leagues,  were  the  nations  of  Chaguaguas,  and  less  remote, 
the  Yutas,  with  whom  also  the  Comanche  were  at  war.  For  this  reason  they 
(meaning  the  Comanche,  I  understand)  went  northwest,  joined  the  Moachos  and 
fought  with  the  settlements  of  New  Mexico,  namely  the  Navajoo,  Zuni  and  Moqui. 
From  reports  given  by  the  Moachos  it  was  thought  that  to  the  northwest  the  sea 
wasjless  then  two  hundred  leagues  distant. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO   NEW   MEXICO,   1749-1752     399 

danger  to  New  Mexico  arising  from  the  new  alliance  between  the 
Comanche  and  the  tribes  of  the  east,  the  danger  of  Comanche 
attacks  on  New  Mexico,  and  the  bad  policy  of  Governor  Mendoza 
in  permitting  the  Mallet  party,  "who  were  the  first  who  entered," 
to  retm*n  after  having  spied  out  the  land.  "I  regard  as  most 
mischievous  the  permission  given  to  the  first  Frenchmen  to  re- 
turn," he  said,  because  "they  gave  an  exact  account  and  relation, 
informing  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  of  their  route,  and  the  situ- 
ation and  conditions  of  New  Mexico."  He  was  convinced,  more- 
over, that  it  was  French  policy  which  had  "influenced  the  minds 
of  the  Jumanes  or  Panipiquees  to  make  peace  with  the  Comanches, 
recently  their  enemies,  with  the  purpose  of  being  able  to  intro- 
duce themselves  by  the  Rio  de  Napestle,  thus  approaching  near 
to  New  Mexico."  None  of  the  newcomers  were  soldiers,  he  said, 
but  all  were  paid  hunters,  in  the  employ  of  fur  merchants.  Now 
that  they  knew  the  way,  he  feared  that  they  would  come  with 
increasing  frequency,  "which  to  me  appears  less  dangerous  to 
these  dominions  than  that  they  should  return  to  their  colonies 
with  complete  knowledge  of  and  familiarity  with  the  lands  in- 
spected through  their  insolence."  Better  distribute  them,  he 
thought,  as  settlers  in  Nueva  Vizcaya  or  Sonora,  without  per- 
mission to  return,  especially  since  all  were  good  artisans,  already 
at  work  at  their  trades,  and  since  they  were  crack  shots,  and 
therefore  would  be  very  useful  in  defending  the  provinces  against 
the  Indians. 

The  governor's  report  reached  Mexico  by  August,  and  on 
January  9,  1751,  Altamira  reviewed  the  whole  matter.^  The 
new  depositions  of  Satren  and  his  companions  satisfied  him  on 
geographical  matters.  In  view  of  what  Velez  had  written,  he 
urged  keeping  out  the  French,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  opening 
of  communication  between  New  Mexico  and  Texas,  on  the  other.^ 

1  On  August  14  it  was  sent  to  Altamira,  the  auditor  general  de  la  guerra.  On 
September  14  Altamira  asked  for  the  documents  relating  to  previous  French  in- 
trusions into  New  Mexico,  and  on  the  16th  the  viceroy  ordered  them  furnished. 
Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  25.  On  November  18  a  testimonio  of  the  governor's 
report  was  made.     Memorandum,  ibid.,  31. 

2  Altamira  estimated  that  from  Santa  F6  to  Los  Adaes  it  was  less  than  two  hun- 
dred leagues,  and  still  less  from  Albuquerque  or  El  Paso,  "and  it  would  be  very  fit- 
ting that  the  transit  and  communication  be  facilitated  from  one  province  to  the  other, 
in  order  that  with  mutual  and  reciprocal  aid  of  arms,  intervening  tribes  who  per- 
secute both  realms,  should  be  forced  into  subjection,  which  would  be  aided  greatly 


400  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

He  approved,  also,  sending  to  the  interior  the  six  new  intruders 
and  others  who  might  come  later,  designating  Sonora  as  the  place, 
because  it  was  the  most  remote  possible  from  Louisiana.-^  On 
January  14  the  viceroy  approved  the  recommendation,  and  on 
the  31st  the  corresponding  despatch  was  written.^ 

Two  distinct  parties  of  Frenchmen  had  thus  entered  New  Mexico 
in  less  than  a  year  by  the  Arkansas  River.  They  were  soon  fol- 
lowed by  others  over  the  northern  route.  In  the  meantime  the 
Jumano  had  made  peace  with  the  Pawnee  (Panana)  and  had  se- 
cured an  alliance  of  the  Comanche  with  the  Pawnee  and  even  with 
the  A  tribe.^  In  these  arrangements  the  French  no  doubt  had  a 
hand,  as  in  the  case  with  the  earlier  Comanche-Jumano  treaty. 

In  1751  four  traders  from  New  Orleans  reached  New  Mexico  by 
way  of  the  Missouri  River,  it  is  said,  but  who  they  were  and  what 
the  circumstances  of  their  journey  has  not  yet  come  to  light.^ 
In  the  following  year,  however,  another  party  came  by  that  route 
concerning  whom  our  information  is  quite  complete.  This  expedi- 
tion, it  will  be  seen,,  had  official  sanction  in  Louisiana.^ 

On  August  6,  1752,  two  Frenchmen  arrived  at  the  cemetery  of 
the  mission  of  Pecos,  bearing  a  white  flag,  and  conducted  by 
Jicarilla  and  Carlana  Apaches  whom  they  had  encountered  fifteen 
leagues  before,  on  the  Gallinas  River.  They  had  nine  horses  and 
nine  tierces  of  cloth,  or  of  clothing.  Father  Juan  Joseph  Toledo, 
missionary  at  Pecos,  deposited  the  merchandise  in  the  convent  of 
the  mission,  and  at  once  wrote  to  the  governor.  Fray  Juan  was 
clearly  not  a  French  scholar,  for  the  names  of  the  strangers  he  wrote 
as  Xanxapij  and  Luis  Fxuij.  In  later  correspondence  they  emerged 
as  Jean  Chapuis  and  Luis  Feuilli  (also  Foissi).^ 

by  practical  acquaintance  with  the  watering  places,  pastures,  and  other  features 
of  that  unknown  intervening  space,"  ibid.,  26. 

^  Altamira,  dictamen,  January  9,  1751,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  25-30. 

*  Decreto,  January  14,  1751,  ibid.,  30.  On  January  25,  a  testimonio  of  the 
expediente  was  made  and  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Secretarla  del  Vireynato. 
Memoranda,  January  14,  ibid. 

'  According  to  the  Spanish  documents  these  tribes  were  now  making  war  on  the 
Kansas  and  Osage.     Testimonio  de  los  Autos  (see  note  5),  fol.  14. 

*Ibid.,  11. 

'  The  account  of  this  party  is  gleaned  from  the  expediente  entitled  Testimonio 
de  los  Autos  fhos  a  Consulta  del  Govor  del  nuebo  Mex^o  sobre  haver  llegado  dos  frdn- 
zeses  cargados  de  efectos  que  conduzian  de  la  Nueba  Orleans,  hereafter  cited  as  Testi- 
monio de  los  Autos. 

•  Fray  Juan  Joseph  Toledo  to  Governor  V61ez,  Pecos,  August  6,  1752,  in  Testi- 
monio de  los  Autos,  2. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,   1749-1752      401 

Father  Toledo's  message  was  received  at  Santa  Fe  on  the  day 
when  it  was  written,  and  the  alcalde  mayor  of  Pecos  and  GaHsteo, 
Don  Tomas  de  Sena,  who  happened  to  be  at  the  capital,  was  at 
once  sent  to  conduct  the  Frenchmen  thither.  Next  day  he  re- 
turned with  the  strangers  and  their  goods.  Their  papers  were 
confiscated,  and  on  the  9th  their  depositions  were  taken,  Luis 
Febre,  who  by  now  was  "slightly  versed  in  the  Spanish  tongue," 
acting  as  interpreter.  From  the  confiscated  documents,  the 
declarations,  and  the  related  correspondence,  we  learn  the  follow- 
ing story  of  the  advent  of  Chapuis  and  Feuilli  into  the  forbidden 
territory.^  .......  ...,.  ^   .r 

Chapuis,  forty-eight  years  old,  was  a  native  of  France  and  a 
resident  of  Canada.  On  July  30,  1751,  he  had  secured  a  pass- 
port from  the  commander  at  Michillimackinac,  Duplessis  Falberte, 
permitting  him  to  return  to  Illinois  to  attend  to  his  affairs,  and 
to  embark  the  necessary  goods  to  sell  in  Illinois  —  those  later 
confiscated  at  Santa  F6.  Reaching  Ft.  Chartres,  he  conferred 
with  the  commander,  Benoit  de  St.  Clair  (Santa  Clara  in  the  docu- 
ments), relative  to  opening  a  trade  route  to  New  Mexico,  his 
object  being  to  deal  in  fabrics.  St.  Clair  encouraged  the  enter- 
prise, and  on  October  6,  1751,  issued  a  license  to  Chapuis  and 
nine  other  men  to  "  make  the  discovery  of  New  Mexico  and  carry 
the  goods  which  they  may  think  proper,"  permitting  Chapuis  to 
carry  a  flag,  and  commanding  the  men  not  to  separate  till  they 
should  reach  their  destination.  Chapuis  was  therefore  the  recog- 
nized leader  of  the  expedition,  which  had  a  semi-official  sanction. 
As  transcribed  into  Spanish  records,  the  names  of  the  others  men- 
tioned in  the  license  were  Roy,  Jeandron,  Foysi,  Aubuchon,  Calve, 
Luis  Trudeau,  Lorenzo  Trudeau,  Betille,  and  Du  Charme.^ 

Feuilli  was  evidently  not  at  Ft.  Chartres  at  the  time  when  the 
license  was  issued,  but  joined  Chapuis  at  the  Kansas  (Canzeres) 
Indian  village,^  said  to  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from 

1  Decreto  of  the  governor,  Santa  F6,  August  6,  1752,  ibid.,  9 ;  Ohedecimiento 
by  Thomas  de  Sena,  Alcalde  Mayor  and  Capitan  k  guerra  of  Pecos  and  Galisteo, 
Santa  F6,  August  7,  1752,  ibid.,  9.  Decreto  of  the  governor,  Santa  F6,  August  8, 
ibid.,  9-10 ;  Juramento  del  Interprete,  August  8,  ibid.,  10. 

*  Declaration  of  Juan  Chapuis,  August  9,  1752,  ibid.,  10-14 ;  license  signed 
by  Benito  de  Santa  Clara  (translation),  Fuerte  de  la  Charte,  October  6,  1751,  ibid., 
8  ;  license  signed  by  Duplesis  Falberte,  Fuerte  de  San  Phelipe  de  Michilimacinac, 
July  30,  1751,  ibid.,  8. 

« In  his  first  declaration  Feuilli  stated  that  he  joined  Chapuis  at  the  Kansas 

2d 


402  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

Ft.  Chartres,  where  for  eight  years  he  had  been  oflScial  interpreter 
in  the  pay  of  the  king  of  France,  and  where,  during  the  same  period, 
there  had  been  a  detachment  from  Ft.  Chartres.  The  Kansas 
detachment  is  called  in  the  documents  Fuerte  Cavagnol.^  Where 
the  other  eight  men  joined  Chapuis  does  not  appear. 

Chapuis  set  out  promptly,  and  on  December  9,  1751,  was  at 
Fuerte  Cavagnol.  On  the  way  thither,  or  after  reaching  there, 
he  passed  among  and  traded  with  the  Osages  and  Missouris,  who, 
together  with  the  Kansas,  comprised  five  villages,  all  under  French 
domination  maintained  by  soldiery.  At  Fuerte  Cavagnol  Chapuis 
formed  a  partnership  with  Feuilli,  "to  go  together  to  Spain,  under 
contract  to  arrive  during  the  month  of  April  near  the  settlements 
of  Spain,  beyond  Sta  Bacas,"  Chapuis  agreeing  to  advance  to 
Feuilli  four  hundred  pounds  in  merchandise  for  the  journey,  on 
condition  that  if  Feuilli  should  break  the  agreement  he  should 
pay  Chapuis  five  hundred  pounds.  Feuilli  could  not  sign  his 
name.  The  agreement  was  witnessed  by  Pedro  and  Lorenzo 
Trudeau.  On  the  same  day  Feuilli  acknowledged  a  debt  to 
Chapuis  of  four  hundred  and  nine  pounds,  due  in  the  following 
April,  to  be  paid  in  beaver  skins  or  other  peltry,  at  the  price  cur- 
rent at  Fuerte  Cavagnol.^ 

Leaving  the  Kansas  about  the  middle  of  March,  1752,  the  party 
continued  to  the  Pawnee  (Panana).  Either  there  or  at  the  Co- 
manche' eight  of  the  men  turned  back,^  through  fear  of  the  Co- 
manche, who  could  not  be  trusted.  The  two  partners  continued 
to  the  Comanche,  who  levied  a  heavy  toll  upon  them  as  a  condi- 
tion of  letting  them  pass,  but  having  received  liberal  presents 

post,  ibid.,  13;  but  in  the  later  one  he  stated  that  he  left  "the  city  of  Los  Yli- 
nueses    in  October,  1751,  which  was  about  the  time  that  Chapuis  set  out  ibid.,  36. 

»  Declaration  of  Feuilli,  ibid.,  13. 

>  Agreement  between  Juan  Chapuis  and  Luis  Foissi,  Fuerte  Cavagnol,  December 
\l  }'  *Wd.,  3;  acknowledgment  of  debt  by  Luis  Foissi,  December  9,  1715, 
%btd.,  3.  Among  the  papers  found  in  the  possession  of  Chapuis  and  Feuilli  at 
Santa  Fe  were  two  which  throw  further  light  on  their  operations.  One  was  a  letter 
signed  by  Languemin  to  an  unnamed  person,  requesting  him  to  aid  Chapuis  in 
recovering  a  slave  sold  by  the  former  to  the  latter,  and  saying,  "I  have  delivered 
thirty  pounds  of  merchandise  to  the  said  Chapuis  to  give  to  the  savages.     I  will 

give  more  if  necessary.     I  would  have  gone  myself  to if  the  Truteaus  had 

not  gone  up."  Another  was  a  letter  by  Foissi^  (Feuilli)  to  Sefior  Moreau  to  come 
and  report  what  was  happening  in  the  district,  ibid.,  4. 

» FeuiUi  stated  that  it  was  four  and  a  half  months  from  the  time  of  leaving  the 
Kansas  to  that  of  arriving  at  Pecos,  ibid.,  14. 

*  There  is  a  discrepancy  in  the  documents  regarding  the  place  where  the  eight 
turned  back. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,   1749-1752     403 

they  directed  them  to  New  Mexico.  From  a  point  north  of  the 
Arkansas  they  were  guided  by  an  Ae  Indian  who  had  been  a  cap- 
tive in  New  Mexico  and  was  fleeing,  and  whom  they  induced  to 
return  with  them  as  guide,  bringing  them  in  from  the  north. 
At  the  Gallinas  River,  fifteen  leagues  from  Pecos,  they  met  Jicarilla 
and  Carlana  Apaches,  who  conducted  them  to  the  Pecos  mission, 
which  they  reached,  as  we  have  seen,  on  August  6,  forty  days  after 
leaving  the  Comanche,  four  and  one  half  months  after  leaving  the 
Kansas,  and  ten  months  after  leaving  Ft.  Chartres.^ 

In  the  course  of  the  interrogation  by  Governor  Velez,  Chapuis 
explained  that  his  plan  for  trade  was  to  convey  goods  up  the 
Panana  (Missouri)  River  by  canoes,  to  the  neighborhood  of  New 
Mexico,  and  thence  by  caravan,  with  horses  bought  from  the 
Pawnee  and  Comanche.  On  account  of  risk  from  the  Comanche, 
"  in  whom  they  have  not  complete  confidence,"  they  would  escort 
each  caravan  with  fifty  or  sixty  soldiers.  Feuilli  stated  that  by  leav- 
ing the  Missouri  to  the  left  {sic),  it  would  not  need  to  be  crossed. 
The  other  six  rivers,  excluding  the  Mississippi,  he  said,  could  be 
forded  by  horses.  In  a  later  statement  Feuilli  said  that  the  goods 
could  be  taken  in  canoes  up  the  Panana  River  to  the  Panana 
Indians,  thence  to  New  Mexico  by  horses  bought  from  that  tribe 
for  the  trade,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  leagues.^  On  being  in- 
formed that  their  project  was  entirely  illegal,  both  Chapuis  and 
Feuilli  emphatically  declared  that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
and  had  supposed  that  by  paying  duties  they  might  trade.  Hav- 
ing learned  that  such  was  not  the  case,  they  begged  permission 
to  go  back  to  report  to  their  commander. 

But  their  request  was  not  granted.  On  the  contrary,  Governor 
Velez  decided  to  send  the  intruders  to  Mexico.  Their  goods  were 
confiscated,  put  up  at  auction  for  three  days,  and  sold  to  Thomas 
Ortiz,  a  cattle  ranchman,  for  404  pesos,  3  recdes,  11  granos,  the 
proceeds  being  devoted  to  defraying  the  expenses  and  conducting 
the  prisoners  to  the  capital.  Of  the  amount  the  governor  him- 
self took  one  hundred  pesos  for  the  expenses  incurred  in  New 
Mexico.     On  the  18th  Velez  reported  the  incident  to  the  viceroy, 

1  Governor  V61ez  to  the  viceroy,   September  18,  1752,  ibid.,  24 ;    declaration 
of  Feuilli,  Mexico  City,  November  23,  1753,  ibid.,  37. 
« Ibid.,  12,  38. 


404  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

and  expressed  renewed  fear  at  the  Comanche  alliance  with  the 
eastern  tribes.  About  the  first  of  October  the  prisoners  were 
sent  south,  in  charge  of  Pedro  Romero,  of  El  Paso,  and  on  October 
29  they  reached  Chihuahua.  From  there  they  were  conducted 
to  Mexico  by  Lorenzo  Alvarez  Godoy,  "muleteer  of  the  Mexican 
route,"  who  received  fifty  pesos  for  the  service.^ 

In  January,  1753,  the  governor's  report  was  handed  to  Altamira, 
who  in  return  expressed  the  fear  that  the  proposed  trade  was  a 
pretext  for  "  other  hidden  and  more  pernicious  ends."  The  matter 
being  referred  to  Dr.  Andreu,  the  fiscal,  it  was  July  before  he  re- 
plied. The  original  declarations  of  the  Frenchmen  were  then 
handed  to  a  translator.  Meanwhile  the  prisoners  were  languish- 
ing in  jail  and  clamoring  for  release.  In  November  Andreu  again 
took  up  the  matter  and  had  new  depositions  taken  from  the 
foreigners.  They  contained  a  few  contradictions  and  a  few  ad- 
ditions to  the  former  stories.^ 

Immediately  after  the  declarations  were  taken,  orders  were 
issued  requiring  kind  treatment  given  the  prisoners,  and  on  January 
18,  1754  the  fiscal  gave  his  opinion.  Since  the  Frenchmen  had 
come  to  open  up  a  trade  route  with  the  permission  of  a  French 
official,  one  of  them  being  in  the  pay  of  the  French  king,  he  rec- 
ommended that  the  prisoners  be  sent  at  once  to  Spain,  in  order 
that  the  king  might  decide  the  matter.  On  the  19th  this  recom- 
mendation was  approved  by  the  viceroy.^ 

The  French  advance  through  the  Comancheria  at  this  time, 
encouraged  as  it  was  by  Governor  Bienville  and  the  commandant 
St.  Clair,  gives  significance  to  the  proposal  of  Governor  Kerlerec 
of  Louisiana,  in  1753,  to  break  through  the  Apache  barrier  and 
open  up  trade  with  the  more  interior  provinces  of  Mexico.  In  a 
memoire  addressed  to  the  king  in  that  year  the  new  governor 
spoke  of  Spain's  jealous  frontier  policy,  the  weakness  of  her  out- 

1  Governor  V61ez  to  the  viceroy,  September  18,  1752,  ibid.,  24;  declaration 
of  Feuilli,  Mexico  City,  November  23,  1753  ;  ibid.,  14-24,  29-30,  37. 

*  Decretos  of  the  viceroy,  January  12,  1753  ;  Dictamen  of  the  auditor,  January  12, 
1753 ;  Respuesta  fiscal,  July  28,  1753 ;  Decreto  of  the  viceroy,  July  30,  1753 ;  es- 
cripto  by  the  prisoners ;  Dictamen  fiscal,  November  15,  1753 ;  Citacidn  de  Inter- 
prete,  November  21,  1753 ;  Deposition  of  the  prisoners,  November  21-23,  1753 ; 
Notorio  al  Alcalde,  November  23,  1753 ;  Respuesta  fiscal,  January  18,  1753,  ibid., 
24-25;  32-40. 

•  Pro  jet  de  Paix  et  D*  Alliance  avec  les  Cannecis  et  les  Avantages  qui  en  Peuvent 
RSsulter  Envoy i  par  KerlSrec,  Gouverneur  de  la  Province  de  la  Loilisianne,  en  1753, 
in  Journal  de  la  Soci^tS  des  Americanist es  de  Paris,  Nouvelle  S^rie,  vol.  3,  pp.  67-76. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,  1749-1752       405 

posts,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  mines  of  Coahuila  and  Nuevo 
Leon  could  be  conquered.  As  a  base  for  securing  them  in  case 
of  any  rupture,  he  proposed  taking  possession  of  the  country  of 
the  Apache,  at  present  attached  neither  to  Spain  nor  France,  he 
said.  But  unless  peace  were  established  between  the  Apache  and 
all  their  numerous  enemies  to  the  eastward,  access  to  their  coun- 
try would  be  impossible.  He  proposed,  therefore,  to  remove  the 
barrier  to  the  Apacheria  by  securing  an  alliance  between  the 
Apache  and  these  eastern  enemies.  Under  the  existing  circum- 
stances of  the  French  monarchy,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  proposal 
was  never  made  the  basis  of  a  program,  but  the  fact  that  it  was 
made  at  all  is  significant.^ 

These  intrusions  of  Frenchmen  into  New  Mexico  were  closely 
bound  up,  in  their  effect  upon  Spanish  policy,  with  similar 
infringements  upon  the  Texas  border,  which  had  been  going  on 
with  greater  or  less  freedom  for  many  years,  and  the  noise  made 
by  the  incursions  over  the  New  Mexico  border  found  its  loudest 
echo  on  the  Texas  frontier.  In  1751,  when  the  doings  of  the 
Febre  party  in  New  Mexico  were  reported  to  the  king  of  Spain, 
they  were  considered  together  with  the  Louisiana-Texas  question. 
As  a  result  of  the  deliberations,  on  June  26,  1751,  it  was  ordered 
that  French  intruders  in  the  Spanish  dominions  be  prevented  from 
returning  to  their  country  under  any  pretext  whatsoever.  The 
viceroy  was  ordered  to  keep  vigilant  watch  of  the  operations  of 
the  French  nation,  and,  if  necessary,  to  order  the  commandant 
of  Louisiana  to  abandon  the  Presidio  of  Natchitoches  and  Isla  de 
los  Labores,  "without  using  the  force  of  arms  for  the  present,  in 
case  he  should  resist  it,  in  order  not  to  cause  disturbances  and 
obligations  on  those  frontiers  which  might  become  paramount  in 
Europe.''  2 

In  the  course  of  the  next  two  or  three  years  complaints  regarding 

» Instruccion  Reservada  que  Trajo  el  Marqu4z  de  las  Amarillaa,  Aranjuez,  July  30, 
1755  (Capitulo  8  summarizes  previous  proceedings),  in  Instmcciones  que  los  Vireyes 
de  Nueva  Espafia  Dejaron  a  sus  Sucesores  (Mexico,  1867),  pp.  96-97. 

'  Testimo  de  Autos  de  Pesquiza  sobre  comercio  Ylicito  y  Dema^  que  expresa  el 
superior  Despacho  que  esta  por  caveza  de  ellos,  Adais,  1761,  B6xar  Archives,  Adaes, 
1739-1755 ;  Report  of  Investigation  of  French  trade  by  DeSoto  Vermtidez,  under 
direction  of  Gov.  Barrios,  1752-1753,  in  Archive  General  y  Ptiblico,  Mexico, 
Historic,  vol  299 ;  Testimonio  de  autos  fechos  en  virtud  de  Superior  Decreto  Expedido 
por  el  ex^  Sefior  Z)»  Juan  Franco  de  GUemes  y  Horcasitas,  etc.,  September  26,  1752, 
B6xar  Archives,  Adaes,  1739-1755. 


406  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

French  aggressions  on  the  Texas  border  grew  apace.  Barrios  y 
Jauregui,  Governor  of  the  province,  made  investigations,  reported 
that  the  French  were  operating  freely  among  all  the  tribes  of  north- 
eastern Texas,  and  that  the  Spaniards  were  at  the  mercy  of  the 
French,  who  absolutely  controlled  the  natives  who  were  held  in 
check  only  by  Louis  de  St.  Denis,  the  younger.  As  offsets. 
Barrios  proposed  that  Spaniards  be  permitted  to  sell  firearms  to 
the  Indians,  that  freedom  be  promised  to  slaves  escaping  from 
Louisiana,  and  that  a  presidio  be  established  on  the  San  Pedro 
River,  a  branch  of  the  Neches,  from  which  to  watch  the  French 
traders.^ 

This  was  the  situation  in  January,  1754,  when  it  was  decided  in 
Mexico  to  send  Chapuis  and  Feuilli  to  Spain.  Immediately 
thereafter  (January  21-22)  the  viceroy  held  a  junta  to  consider 
the  royal  order  of  June  26,  1751,  together  with  the  related  affairs 
of  Texas  and  New  Mexico.  It  was  decided  for  the  present  to 
make  no  move  to  drive  the  French  across  the  Red  River,  since  it 
was  not  certain  whether  that  stream  or  Gran  Montana  was  the 
boundary.  For  the  same  reason  the  sending  of  an  engineer  to 
mark  the  boundary,  which  had  been  suggested,  was  regarded  as 
unnecessary.  Barrios's  proposal  that  Louisiana  slaves  be  publicly 
offered  their  liberty  was  declared  to  be  in  bad  taste,  and  further 
consideration  was  regarded  as  necessary  before  acting  upon  his 
plan  for  a  presidio  on  the  San  Pedro.  But  Barrios  was  ordered  to 
keep  watch  that  the  French  should  not  extend  their  boundaries ; 
French  interpreters  must  be  recalled  from  villages  on  Spanish 
soil,  and  Governor  Barrios,  "with  his  discretion,  industry,  vigi- 
lance, and  prudence  must  try  to  prevent  the  commerce  of  the 
French  with  the  Indians  of  Texas,  observing  what  the  governor 
of  New  Mexico  had  practiced  in  the  matter,  with  the  idea  of 
preventing  the  Indians  from  communicating  with  them."  ^ 

This  decision  of  the  junta  de  guerra  in  Mexico  bore  fruit  in  the 
arrest  by  Barrios,  in  the  fall  of  1754,  of  the  French  traders,  Joseph 

1  Instruccion  Reservada,  July  30,  1755,  in  Instrucciones  que  loa  Vireyea  de  Nueva 
Esjjafia  Dejaron  a  sua  Sucesores,  pp.  96-97. 

»  This  episode  is  discussed  at  length  by  Bolton,  in  Southwestern  Historical  Quar- 
terly, vol.  16,  pp.  339-378.  The  connection  between  the  junta  of  January  21-22, 
1754,  and  the  arrest  of  Blancpain  is  shown  in  Expediente  sobre  la  aprehencion  .  .  . 
de  tres  Franceses,  Archivo  General  de  Indias,  Sevilla,  Guadalajara,  103-6-23,  a 
copy  of  which  I  secured  through  Mr.  W.  E.  Dunn. 


FRENCH   INTRUSIONS   INTO   NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752     407 

Blancpain  and  his  associates,  on  the  Texas  coast,  near  the  Trinity 
River,  and  the  estabhshment  there  soon  after,  of  a  Spanish  pre- 
sidio and  mission,  as  means  of  holding  back  the  French.  Thus  the 
whole  French  border  question,  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Trinity,  was  treated  as  one. 

The  French  intrusion  into  New  Mexico  found  another  echo'^in 
Sonora.  On  March  2,  1751,  Fernando  Sanchez  Salvador,  Cap- 
tain of  Cuirassiers  of  Sonora  and  Sinaloa,  cited  the  French  ad- 
vance westward  as  a  reason  for  haste  in  the  Spanish  occupation 
of  the  Colorado  of  the  West.  He  was  convinced  that  the  French 
traders  had  ulterior  ends  and  that  they  would  soon  reach  the 
Colorado  and  descend  it  to  the  South  Sea  unless  impeded  by  a 
Spanish  advance.^ 

^  S&nchez  thought  that  the  Carmelo  River,  of  California,  was  a  western  mouth 
of  the  Colorado.  Citarta  Representacion,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  Ill  Ser.,  vol.  3, 
pp.  662-663. 


y  -^4 


